Stolen bag of dog food leads to police chase in Farmington

Residents in a Farmington neighborhood helped police locate a 38-year-old Plymouth resident Thursday after a brief chase through downtown parking lots and streets.

Farmington Public Safety Deputy Director Ted Warthman said the man had taken a 50-pound bag of dog food from a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market store shelf and tried to return it. A manager who knew the item had not been purchased said the return required a key.

Rather than wait, the man carried the bag out of the store and drove off in a vehicle that bystanders described to police. Warthman said police chased the driver through Public Safety and Farmington Community Library parking lots west of Farmington Road, headed down Liberty, then west on Alta Loma to Cass. The vehicle eventually turned onto a dead end street.

“He pulls into a driveway on Conroy Court and runs,” Warthman said. “Citizens outside told us which way he went, and officers took him into custody.”

The man has been arraigned in 47th District Court on charges that include fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest, obstruction, and retail fraud.